But Hammett may have been the first to incorporate wisecracks, and he was almost certainly the best.

The scene in "The Girl with the Silver Eyes" in which the Continental Op tries to pry information about the vanished Jeanne Delano from her would-be lover Burke Pangburn ought to be read in its entirety, but this excerpt gives something of the flavor:

"`What color hair?'

"`Brown—so dark that it's almost black—and it's soft and thick and—

"`Yes, yes. Long or bobbed?'

"`Long and thick and—'

"`What color eyes?'

"`You've seen shadows on polished silver when—'

"`I wrote down gray eyes... '"

Hammett's wisecracks are entertaining for their own sake, wittier than most, and, unlike most wisecracks by the generations of hard-boiled writers who have followed, they are always thematically apt. They advance the story; they never seen designed to attract attention for their own sake. Hammett did it first, and Hammett did it best.

And now, readers, who are your favorite wisecracking hard-boiled writers? Why? What do wisecracks contribute to a story? What makes for a good wisecrack in the context of a story, as opposed to a mere funny line?

12 Comments:

FYI, Chandler was born on this date in 1888; as notice of that birthday, I have posted an article and questions at my site, Crimes in the Library.

As for your question, I think the key to Chandler's "wisecracks" is the originality of the language; he succeeds best when he surprises with unique, new phrases with never before used metaphors and similes.

Now, to refresh my memory and remind me that my thesis is correct, I will reread _The Lady in the Lake_, my favorite Chandler.

Wisecracks, especially in an otherwise heavy story, leaven the mood and can serve to make the violence and other malevolence more effective by keeping the book from becoming a dreary trudge from bad to worse. They're also great for characterization, even when the character isn't as funny as he thinks he is. As much as anything, though, they're how life is. People are cracking wise all the time. They stand out more in books because the author can refine the comment through several drafts.

One of my favourites is by Elmore Leonard. I can't remember which novel it's from, but the setup is a not very bright hitman hiding out in Windsor after some trouble in Detroit. He's on the phone to his boss having an important conversation, and at the same time staring out his motel window at a Chinese greasy spoon diner that has a sign advertising "Chinese and Canadian food". Towards the end of the conversation the hitman suddenly interrupts his boss to ask, "What's Canadian food?" Leonard was great at the parenthetical wisecrack or observation.

R.T.: I hope Blogger enjoys that comment it just ate. Here it is again:

Hammett's wisecracks were certainly nowhere nearly as extravagant as Chandler's similes (http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/2009/04/he-stuck-out-like-zoot-suit-at-shaker.html), which may be why they are far less widely imitated (though Hammett was capable of verbal slapstick, too, as in the opening scene of "Arson Plus.")

But the tones are so different that I have to think the two writers had different goals for their humor. Chandler's always seem more verbally inventive, Hammett's to cut closer to the moral or narrative of philosophical heart of the story at hand.

One of my favorite wisecrackers is in Sharyn McCrumb's book, "If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him". Her character Eleanor is a Betty Broderick type, but with a sense of humor. I have wondered if she used the Broderick case as inspiration.

Two of my favorites are Robert B. Parker and Gregory Mcdonald. When writing Spenser, Parker showed the same talent for wisecracks as Hammett and Chandler, but his humor was more contemporary, being written in the 1970s, so I related somewhat better to it than Hammett's or Chandler's.

As much as he joked with other characters, Spenser's internal monologue also had humor, as if he were conversing with the reader as well. Mcdonald's humor writing Fletch came through dialogue with other characters, but written in third person, his wisecracks were more surprising, not set up by internal monologue.

I like humor pertinent to the story, but I also like how humor shows detachment, gives a sense there's more to the joker's life than the story's main action. The joker is able to step back and and laugh at his situation.

Of course, as wisecracking humor has become a trait of many hardboiled characters, it can also prevent one from standing out from the rest. Not every character can or should be a joker.

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This blog is a proud winner of the 2009 Spinetingler Award for special services to the industry and its blogkeeper a proud former guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's Here on Earth. In civilian life I'm a copy editor in Philadelphia. When not reading crime fiction, I like to read history. When doing neither, I like to travel. When doing none of the above, I like listening to music or playing it, the latter rarely and badly.
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